The Pacers entered the free agency period with two stated goals: bolster their anemic bench and keep their starting five together.

Two days in, it appears that they’ve managed to do both. First, they signed backup point guardC.J. Watson from the Nets. Now, according to Yahoo! Sports, they have moved closer to re-signing power forward David West, on a three-year contract expected to be worth $36 million. (UPDATE: The Associated Press reported that the sides agreed to a deal Tuesday night, for those terms.)

West had made no secret about his desire to stay in Indiana. Back in 2011, when he was a free agent coming off knee surgery, the Pacers took a chance on him by signing him to a two-year deal worth $20 million. He rewarded them with a solid first season, but was even better last year, averaging 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds, shooting 49.8 percent from the field.

West told Sporting News in May that he was pleased with the way things had worked out in Indiana.

“This was at the top of my list in terms of the Pacers, the organization,” he said. “Obviously there were other opportunities out there, but they didn’t present this opportunity. This was the best opportunity. This is a good core. It’s not just one or two guys, it’s a good core group here and I felt like I could really add and have an impact to this core group that is here with the Pacers.”

Obviously, he is still happy. West helped lead the Pacers to the conference finals this year, where they took Miami to a Game 7.